June 6, 2018

Lujan Grisham cruises to victory in Democratic gubernatorial primary

One of the less-surprising moments on Tuesday was when U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham won the Democratic primary for governor. A recent Albuquerque Journal poll showed Lujan Grisham more than 40 points ahead of former television executive and son of a past New Mexico governor, Jeff Apodaca. On Tuesday night, election numbers showed Lujan Grisham with more than 60 percent of the vote against Apodaca and state Sen. Joe Cervantes.

“You guys are awesome,” Lujan Grisham said to supporters Tuesday night during a victory speech in Albuquerque.

In the last several weeks, the race became increasingly contentious when Apodaca’s campaign criticized Lujan Grisham’s role in a private company that manages the state’s high risk insurance pool. Apodaca said Lujan Grisham, along with state Rep. Debbie Armstrong, were profiting from exploiting sick and vulnerable New Mexicans. Lujan said the high risk pool helped those without insurance and that she recently divested herself from the company she started with Armstrong.

Earlier this year, a former congressional intern claimed she was fired for being transgender in 2015. Lujan Grisham and her campaign have consistently denied the allegation. The young woman, Riley Del Rey, has since taken to publicly criticising the congresswoman and pledging her support to Apodaca.

Both Del Rey’s termination and Lujan Grisham’s healthcare work will surely come up sometime in the next five months leading up to the general election, but Lujan Grisham told supporters on Tuesday to be ready for them and more, particularly from right-leaning PACs.

“The false attacks and phony scandals, we need to talk about those for just a little. Poquito,” Lujan Grisham said during her victory speech.

“The truth is, they are nothing compared to the negative campaign of distortion and the lies we are likely to see from the national Republican Party.”

Lujan told Albuquerque radio station KANW-FM that Cervantes called her and was “gracious” in his concession. She did not know if Apodaca had reached out, but said she had not yet spoken to him.

At his campaign party, Apodaca stopped short of conceding but said he knew Lujan Grisham was going to beat him during early voting. He vowed to “keep the pressure on our political leaders” even if it’s through a private venture instead of public service.

Standing next to his wife, Apodaca said he wasn’t sure what was next for him.

“God always opens up our paths for us,” he said. “We don’t know what that is, but tomorrow’s a new day.”

Lujan Grisham will now face Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce in the November election. The two currently serve in Congress together and their race will mark the first time two sitting Congress members have faced off against each other in a gubernatorial race.

Related

Comments

More About

New Mexico’s Republican gubernatorial candidate wants the U.S. Department of Justice to hold 2016 presidential candidate and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accountable for an email scandal that dates back to nearly a decade ago. Without offering many details, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, who is giving up his congressional seat to run for New Mexico governor, said in a radio interview last week he does not think the DOJ—specifically U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions—is doing enough to take Clinton to task for the way she reportedly handled classified email messages while Secretary of State.

MCALLEN — Every afternoon, dozens of immigrant families released by the U.S. government walk three blocks from the Greyhound bus station in this South Texas border city to a migrant shelter run by Catholic Charities. Along with the clothes slung over their shoulders, the migrants sometimes carry government-issued containers — dark-blue receptacles resembling lunch boxes, with plastic handles that shine in the mid-afternoon sun.

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party of New Mexico nominee for U.S. Senate, is still mum on whether he will run. But, that hasn’t stopped supporters and political adversaries from chiming in on his candidacy.

Lawmakers voted to update the State Legislature’s sexual harassment policy, the first such change in a decade. The 15-0 Legislative Council vote came a day before the start of the 2018 legislative session.

When Gov. Susana Martinez was sworn into office nearly eight years ago, she had this to say about educating children in New Mexico: “Nothing we do is more indispensable to our future well-being or will receive more attention from my administration than guaranteeing our children a quality education.”
New Mexico had received an “F” for K-12 achievement on a national education grading report. Fast forward eight years.

MCALLEN — Every afternoon, dozens of immigrant families released by the U.S. government walk three blocks from the Greyhound bus station in this South Texas border city to a migrant shelter run by Catholic Charities.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Groups advocating for the rights of children and families detained at the southern border are using the Freedom of Information Act to find out exactly where the Trump administration plans to build migrant detention centers on two military bases in the Southwest.